Driving continuously for more than 4 hours will be fined 3 - 5 million: Is traffic jam time compensated?

The Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety stipulates that drivers are not allowed to drive more than 48 hours/week, not allowed to drive more than 10 hours/day, and not allowed to drive continuously for more than 4 hours.

According to Decree 168/2024 regulating administrative penalties in the field of road traffic, if a driver drives a commercial vehicle for transport exceeding the prescribed time, or fails to comply with the regulations on rest time between two consecutive drives, he/she will be fined from 3 to 5 million VND. The additional penalty is the deduction of 2 points on the driver's license.

In addition, car owners who let drivers drive continuously beyond the prescribed time will also be fined 4-6 million VND (individuals) and 8-12 million VND (organizations). In the case where the vehicle owner is the one directly driving the vehicle, 2 points will also be deducted from the driver's license.

The director of a bus company specializing in the Hanoi - Lao Cai route said that although his company owns many passenger transport vehicles, it is currently operating at just over 50% capacity due to difficulties in maintaining the number of drivers. Meanwhile, the number of passengers tends to decrease due to the increase in carpooling and private vehicles.

“Many drivers decide to change careers because they feel pressured and no longer want to stick with their jobs, which makes the bus companies feel like they are sitting on a "fire pit", said the director.

Meanwhile, truck driver Nguyen Van Binh is concerned about the situation: When driving on the highway, approaching the threshold of 4 hours of continuous driving, the driver is not allowed to continue driving but there is no rest stop on the road, nor an emergency lane, what should he do? In addition, in case of traffic jam, the driver has to wait in the car, will this time be compensated or still counted?

Faced with the above reality, the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association recently sent a document to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice requesting immediate removal of some obstacles for automobile transport businesses, especially regulations on continuous driving time.

The representative of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association said that our country's road system is not yet synchronized, and traffic jams often occur. Especially in large cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the main national highways with high traffic volume passing through the urban areas are even more congested.

Furthermore, some highways currently do not have rest stops, especially on the North-South highway. Vehicles must run continuously until they exit the highway before they can find a rest stop.

With such objective difficulties, drivers cannot fully control their driving time on the road, leading to violations of driving time regulations. “These are unintentional acts, known in advance but unavoidable, resulting in both drivers and businesses being severely punished…”, the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association commented.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen, Chairman of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, said that up to now, automobile transport businesses with long-distance vehicles such as the North-South and Northwest routes have arranged a maximum of 2 drivers.

However, with the regulation that drivers are not allowed to drive more than 48 hours/week, not allowed to drive more than 10 hours/day and not allowed to drive continuously for more than 4 hours, businesses must arrange up to 3 drivers/vehicle to take turns driving. This will increase transportation costs, not to mention it is very difficult to find drivers, especially drivers driving heavy vehicles such as container trucks. Meanwhile, the current tractor-trailer is designed with only two seats and is regulated to only allow two people to sit, even vehicles designed with a bed in the back.

“Thus, the application of regulations and sanctions for the above violations in current conditions and in road conditions that do not meet the normal traffic needs of vehicles participating in traffic, makes it very easy for car drivers to violate due to objective reasons…”, Mr. Quyen said.

Therefore, the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association proposed that the Prime Minister direct relevant ministries and branches to study and adjust the driving time in the direction of increasing driving time. Specifically, the maximum driving time per week is from 55 to 60 hours, and the continuous and daily driving time is 10% higher than the current regulations.